Miss Martha-Build

Miss Martha Parts

Minimal parts are required to build the

Miss Martha.

R/C Aircraft Insight From Low Altitude

John W. Blossick Tail Slide Haven johnb@tslidehaven.com January 2021

Wing Ribs

Wing ribs cut, sanded, and ready to go.

Note the jig tabs at the rear of the ribs.

When added to any symmetrical or

semi symmetrical airfoil they alleviate

the need for a wing jig.

Wing Servo Bay

I decided to outfit the wing for dual

servos to take advantage of mixing

in flaperons. Servo wire tunnel is

made from paper file cabinet folder

hangers.

Aileron Wire Tubes

View showing aileron wire tunnels, center ribs, and lower sheeting.

Completed Wing

Strong and light constant cord design.

Aileron stock is an oddball size. 1/2”X 1

1/2”.I had to glue together two 1/4” X 1

1/2” pieces for each aileron.

Fuselage Construction

Bulkheads are glued vertically to one

side along with the wing saddle and

wing hold down doubler.

Tail Area

The rear of Miss Martha tapers rapidly

and is very narrow. To keep the

control rod exits close to the flight

surfaces Sullivan semi-flexible Gold-

N-Rods were used.

Fuselage Sides

Right side of fuselage is placed

upright and glued to bullheads with

landing gear plate. Aligned and

pinned over plan to keep square.

Wing Center Section

1/4” plywood wing joiners hold

wing halves together. 1/16” shear

webs, sheeting top and bottom

with cap strips finish up the wing.

Have You Ever Heard of Miss

Martha?

Most likely, no. Unless you’ve been around

RC airplanes since the mid 80’s you

probably never have.

The Miss Martha takes us back to the early days of airplanes designed for Fun Fly competition. Fun fly airplanes were typically overpowered and could perform outrageous aerobatics. Numerous rolls and loops in the blink of an eye were not uncommon, yet they could slow to a virtual crawl upon landing for spot landing events. The wide flight envelope also made the airplanes an excellent choice for the Sunday flier and a good choice as a second airplane for the newcomer. Sensibly powered, with reduced control throws, these airplanes were pussy cats to fly. From the Designer Bob Richards: “The Miss Martha was designed by me in 1979. This was in the earliest days of fun- fly competition, for which this plane was designed...” ”The last MM I built was in the mid 80s, and had an OS 61 four stroke. The best flying ones, IMHO, were ones built very light and with an OS .32. “And if anyone is wondering where the name came from, I named it after my then girlfriend. She was a little miffed when I was spending so much time working on the design, so I painted her name on the side of the prototype and started flying in fun- fly contests. I had not intended to call it the Miss Martha, but the name stuck. She must have thought it was cool to have a plane named after her. She married me in '83 and we have been together ever since.” Ready to build one? Own a piece of fun fly history and fly something that didn’t arrive from overseas in a 40 foot container. Be a rebel!...Let’s go!